Venture
by UnholyWater
Summary: Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.


Written for the '52flavours' livejournal community.  
Theme : the strong and ephemeral

* * *

"Just because."

"That's not an answer, Momoko. Again, why did you buy that lighter before we entered the tram?" Kaoru asked, standing up, holding on one of the overhead straps, while Momoko and Miyako were sitting in two of the tram's chairs.

"None of your business."

Kaoru became irritated, but her upcoming outburst was cut by Miyako.

"It's not polite not to answer to your friend about something so simple."

"Forget it. Look, we've arrived."

The three girls exited the trolley and headed to the sea coast.

It was a place in which they used to go together a few years ago, one of their 'own' spots of their early teens. Miyako had recommended to go there for the evening, since it had been almost a year since they'd last visited the place. Kaoru had agreed, but Momoko needed to be asked twice in order to accept.

Miyako inhaled the salty air, remembering how they used to play with the sand and water -all of them ending up in a total mess- and how these were the only moments she didn't care about ruined clothes, wrecked hair and a scolding grandmother.

Kaoru turned around to her read head friend. "Hey I don't know why you're so unusually moody today. I mean, come on, tomorrow is your 16th birthday..."

"I'm not 'moody'. What's up with you and the interrogations today?"

Kaoru kept staring at her, stubbornly.

"Fine!" Momoko exclaimed and pulled something off her bag. "I bought _this_ from some classmate when we left school, okay?"

Kaoru looked surprised at what Momoko was holding in front of her. Miyako walked into the scene to see for herself. The object presented roughly looked like a common cigarette. But it certainly wasn't one.

Kaoru looked like regaining her cool and tipped her hat. "Well now, I guess that explains the lighter." Miyako made a step back.

"I'm... I'm in such an age and done nothing... adult yet. Every other girl in highschool has already, even those younger than me! I'll soon become an adult without having done anything of the crazy stuff teenagers do!"

Kaoru tried not to comment on the notion that Momoko hasn't done 'anything crazy' yet. She sighed and eased her voice.

"So, why the hiding business? We're not your parents to go apeshit about your little acts of rebellion."

"You two sure do_ act_ as if you were my parents. A lot."

Kaoru blushed while Miyako muffled a giggle.

"Listen here, quit acting like you're living some kind of personal drama! I'm older than you and have never smoked a freaking cigarette or pot or any other shit, either. Do you see me bitching about it?"

"Oh, and why haven't you?"

"I like my lungs and sanity the way they are, thank you very much."

Momoko put the joint back in her bag. "Such a crybaby. One try wouldn't hurt you, you know."

"How did you just call me..!?"

"Please stop it you two!"

---

The trio was now sitting just near the edge of the sore, where the light waves of the sea would barely reach their feet. Momoko, much calmer now, was simply enjoying the view of the evening sky and the occasional cool breeze.

"So," Kaoru broke the silence "Will you throw it or do it at home?"

There was no way for her to risk being caught by Kuriko or her parents. But couldn't get that thought of trying this today, right now, either. She shrugged away any complicated thoughts and begun digging in her bag again.

"Oh I'll just smoke the damn thing," she declared, put the joint between her lips and tried hastily to open the lighter up.

After a few failed attempts she lit it up and proceeded to light the waiting tube, covering the flame with her hand. Momoko had to stay like that for a while until she could smell fumes coming from the burning tip. Being sure that all's set, she supported the joint with her fingers and inhaled akwardly.

As soon as she did so, Momoko widened her eyes, pulled away the spliff and begun coughing uncontrollably, smoke streaming out.

Kaoru and Miyako were just standing there watching the girl between them trying to catch her breath.

"Happy?"

Momoko repositioned the tube in her lips. "I'll tell you when it's finished," she mumbled.

"...I don't think there's just tobacco in this," Miyako meekly observed.

Kaoru was used into hearing the blonde stating the obvious, like now. She kept looking at Momoko who was now coughing aloud again, right after the second inhale.

"Gimme that!" Momoko had to shake her head a few times to realise that her hands were empty and to see what the athlete beside her was doing. "I'll show you how it's done."

Miyako looked twice as shocked than before.

Kaoru's own building curiosity had taken over and she just had to try this challenging crap. It's not like she'll get another chance again, she thought. And besides, Momoko had called her a crybaby, so she just ought to prove her wrong!

Kaoru exhaled a puff of smoke, struggling to keep utter control of the desire to cough just as violently. She offered the joint back to her friend, her pride not allowing to show her huge discomfort and rising dizziness.

Momoko laughed. "Kaoru, loosen up now or your head will implode!"

The tomboy punched herself on the chest, forcing air and lots of fumes out. Momoko highly amused by the scene, paused her laughter and soon tried another drag.

Which resulted into another hacking fit.

"Please, stop! You are hurting yourselves!" Miyako slowly took the half-smoked material from the still coughing Momoko. She and Kaoru looked at their concerned friend. "Please. Pay close attention to me."

And they did. Especially when she carefully placed the mouth-end in her lips.

They couldn't tell which had the most impact: witnessing the ever proper Miyako doing openly something so vulgar, or the fact that she actually looked skilled at the task at hand?

Miyako had never talked into detail about the chronicles of her ancient-rooted lineage that she always had to study about; plenty parts of it's history involving kiseru smoking pipes, expensive opioids and hemp-filled rituals...

Afterwards, she only let out a light cough and turned to her friends smiling, with slightly watered eyes.

"Inhale very lightly, don't take too much, blow soon from the mouth and nose." When she saw how she's been looked, she added "...that's what I've heard."

Momoko, already drifting in a state of no inhibitions, grabbed the joint from Miyako and attempted to mimic her. It resulted better for her respiratory system, this time.

She grinned and offered it to Kaoru, asking her to make that same ridiculous expression again. Kaoru tried to smoke again, while leering at the laughing redhead beside her- then turned and blew all the smoke in Momoko's face. Now it was her turn to laugh and repeated the prank, making Momoko pounce on the tomboy to take her joint back. Momoko took a whiff right on top of Kaoru, only to be pushed next to Miyako, who simply stood there and watched her friends' odd wrestling match.

Miyako smiled at this lively sight of Momoko and Kaoru who grappled on the wet shore. She recalled how these two would try to steal Octi from each other and have long pillow fights, back in the days when the three would have a sleepover together. Eventhough this time something not meant for kids was involved in their game, she felt that nothing had changed since those cute, innocent times.

At last the joint disappeared with Momoko's final inhale, leaving only the burnt end in the roach clip. All noise disappeared.

The sundown had almost ended. Momoko lied down heaving next to Miyako, with Kaoru's hat in one hand, the clip in the other. Kaoru was the only one standing, watching the waves splashing on her toes.

"Man, I'd totally eat anything edible right now," she said.

"And I'd totally drink the whole damn sea," Momoko replied, "but I'm so not moving a muscle. I'll just lie here like that and keep staring at the stars."

"There are no stars in the sky yet," Kaoru stated.

"Oh. Well, those I see look pretty."

Miyako laid next to Momoko. "I'll join you then, because there are very interesting colors everywhere."

"What are you talking about, you barely smoked anything," Momoko answered.

Kaoru sneaked behind them and grabbed Miyako by the armpits. "Miyako doesn't need drugs in order to be ditzy, remember?" Kaoru lifted her a bit, making the blonde yelp.

"Too true," Momoko cackled and stood to catch Miyako's legs. "And she's way too clean. Lets throw her to the water."

"So mean. You two got dirty by fighting over the cigarette and want to stain me too," Miyako pouted jokingly.

She half-laughed half-screamed in midair when she was thrown into the shallow waters, soaking her all.

"Oh now not even transforming will save you!" She begun splashing them and tossing mud at her friends who were willing, happy targets.

---

When they fell down on the shoreline spent and utterly messed, only the moon overhead and the streetlights near the rails made them visible to each other.

"How many hours we've been here?" Momoko murmured. Her ponytail was mixed with sand and her legs were tangled with wracks.

Miyako and Kaoru who were again lying at each of her sides, kept looking at the nightsky.

"Could it be midnight?" Miyako asked.

"No clue," Kaoru responded. She sat on her elbows and eyed her friends, smirking. "But even if it isn't... it will be soon."

Miyako understood and snuggled close to Momoko. "Happy birthday," she whispered.

"Happy birthday, you batshit freako," Kaoru said, playfully ruffling the redhead's hair.

Momoko rested still. She wanted to speak and to act, but could only lay there, looking into space. Soon she felt conscious of the joint's stub still in her palm.

Smiling, she tossed the almost full lighter away, and put the remains of the used -by all the three of them- cigarette deep inside her pocket.

"Thank you."


End file.
